Being at sea is a way of life that most people do not get to experience. It is a unique way of life, and it is wonderful. By being on a ship in the middle of the ocean, you are very likely to see something you haven’t experienced before.
That was certainly what drove Joyce Young to her line of work. 15 years ago she left her native Scotland, and since then she has not lived in the same place for more than a year. “It’s nice to have a job that travels with you,” she says. Her passion for the underwater environment took her from diving resorts to superyachts. But something was missing: she felt she was not giving back to the sea. Only a month ago she started working as a Stewardess onboard of a Research Vessel for the first time, feeling that through R/V Falkor her adventures at sea will have a new purpose: creating knowledge that could ultimately benefit the ocean.
Passion
Passion seems to be a constant amongst seafarers: passion for the ocean and the experiences that take place when sailing around the globe. Take Verena Neher, Purser on the MEGATERA expedition. After taking care of all administration and interior management affairs, she finally turns off her computer and steps ashore in order to go and explore the new city she has arrived in. She never has any time to plan ahead, so when she is walking around, she allows each new place to surprise her. After a few blocks, she is always amazed at the fact that she is somewhere completely new, free to make up her own mind about it and not having to take anyone’s word for it. “The horizon does not end at the borders of your country,” she declares with a smile.
Curiosity
It is clear that if curiosity does not guide your steps, you will probably never be tempted to sail. Thirst for knowledge made Hélène Carton’s path cross with R/V Falkor. Hélène is a geophysicist participating on the MEGATERA expedition. She is no stranger to the waters of the Indian Ocean, but she keeps coming back for more. “I think all subduction zones have the potential to surprise me,” she explains. “Here there was a belief that the plate that is sliding down was doing so peacefully. What we call aseismic slip. But it turns out that is not the case. So we have to come back and reexamine – question our beliefs on how subduction zones function”.
Curiosity also led Colleen Peters (Lead Marine Technician onboard) to study marine sciences and continue exploring possibilities to define the job that would fulfill her the most. “I like to understand how things work. Troubleshooting is a big part of my job—if something breaks you have to figure out why it broke and how to fix it.” That is why, when she heard of the newly-formed Schmidt Ocean Institute, she did not hesitate to get involved. “I like to be part of things that are new and developing, it’s much more interesting to figure things out than to do what has already been done,” she declares.
Determination
It is challenging working on a ship: constant motion, high humidity, high heat, often in the rain. It takes determination. The kind of determination that would make a 16 year old start studying to become a sailor in spite of being the only girl of her family, also the youngest, all the while her family calling her dream crazy. “I knew I wanted something different” says Sandra Faryna, Deckhand onboard R/V Falkor. “I wanted no boundaries, I wanted to travel, I wanted something special, I wanted to be someplace like the ocean.” Eleven years ago, she started studying to do just that. “If I did not enjoy it, I would not be here. It’s as simple as that. I like being a Deckhand,” she says, filled with a seafarer’s determination.
Family
Days turn to weeks, months, even years. Friends are the family you choose and that is certainly true onboard ofR/V Falkor. This brings comfort to Shiella Bonita, Stewardess. She knows that saying goodbye to her son back in the Philippines in order to embark on a new expedition is never easy, but being greeted by people she has become very close with makes it much better. “I’m also very afraid of rough weather,” she confesses “but I love meeting new people and traveling to different places. If the waves are high or the work is difficult, everybody here helps each other”.
Adventure
The sea may be calm. But the sense of an ongoing adventure when sailing through it never disappears. Frédérique Leclerc does not miss a sunset, or a sunrise. Sitting on R/V Falkor’s forecastle, she takes it all in. She refuses to take nature for granted. As a little girl, during a school fieldtrip to Massif Central in her native France, Frédérique realized what her passion was. Years later she became a tectonics expert. Her journey has led her from Martinique to Singapore, to R/V Falkor’s current expedition, off Sumatra, a mythical part of the world for young scientists. She laughs while she confesses that, in her line of work, just hearing the word “subduction” summons excitement; “subduction plates are linked to big earthquakes and active volcanoes, and we have a love for them.”
The key common thread amongst R/V Falkor’s women is an intense curiosity to understand the world around them, and a passionate desire to explore beyond the confines of shore-based normality. While it isn´t an easy life for them, the rewards and the knowledge that they are making a contribution to our understanding of the oceans outweigh the hardships. Not one of them would give it up without a fight.
